About

While taking a class together at Boise State, we lamented the lack of noncompetitive spaces to read our written work. Slams are great, but they often require a particular style of poetry and performance that not everyone who wants to share their work aligns with. We decided to create a space for people to share their work whether they are just starting out or have been writing and performing for 30 years.

Our first event was in February of 2019 at Lost Grove Brewing. We then had an event there roughly once a month. Sometimes we were been lucky enough to be packed and other times it was two or three of us drinking beers in the chilliest corner of an empty room. Either way, we've done our best to keep providing a space for the passionate folks in Boise. 

To celebrate a year of Spoken Word, in February of 2020 we put together a little, handmade, chapbook of the featured poets we had throughout the year. A digital copy of Boise Spoken Word Vol. 1 can be found here. 

Shortly after our one year anniversary, we had to stop having in person events due to COVID-19. In June of 2020, we were lucky enough to receive a grant from The COVID Cultural Commission Fund. This grant allowed us to publish and professionally print our second chapbook Home Grown in 2021.

In 2022 we started our events back up, this time at Clairvoyant Brewing at their W Idaho street location. January of 2023 we held an open call for submissions for our upcoming chapbook. Keep an eye out for Boise Spoken Word Vol. 3.

Boise Spoken Word Collective was formed by Samantha Van Doren, Dona Ochoa, and Roam Yocham.